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Heterosis, Inbreeding Depression, and Reciprocal Effects for Yield and Some Yield Components in a Cowpea Cross¹

Two pureline cowpea (Vigna sinensis L.) cultivars, differing in many agronomic characters, were crossed and carried to the F₂ generation. The parental cultivars and F₁ and F₂ generations were grown in the field in a randomized block design, and notes were taken on individual plants for number of branches, clusters, seeds/ pod, pods and 100-seed weight and yield. Analyses of variance were performed and heterosis, inbreeding depression and reciprocal effects were calculated, each by two different methods, and tested for significance.

The greatest heterosis with respect to the midparent was observed for seed yield and the lowest for number of branches. The mean values of F₁ for number of clusters and pods and seed yield exceeded even the mean of the higher parent. For most characters studied, the mean values of F₂ approached the values of the midparent, thus exhibiting inbreeding depression as a result of one generation of natural selfing. However, in general, the values obtained for heterosis were greater than those for inbreeding depression.

Both methods used for calculation and testing of each criterion yielded similar results. Significant heterosis and inbreeding depression were found for all characters except the number of branches. No reciprocal effects were present for any of the characters studied. It was concluded that the production of hybrid seed for cowpeas could be commercially advantageous, if large-scale methods of emasculation and crossing were developed for this species.

Key Words: Vigna sinensis L. • Hybrid production • Genetic parameters

² Instructor and associate professors, respectively, Dep. of Agron., Pahlavi Univ.

Received for publication September 19, 1974.